brutally soft | st agere one shots

. a different age

cg!wayne
little!eddie
requested by: this is my idea !! i published this as a separate oneshot awhile back, but it made sense to just publish it here instead.
tw this one is a little sad but nothing else

it had been exactly 32 days since eddie munson was drug out of the upside down by dustin henderson. 32 days since eddie laid in the back of the stolen rv, choking on blood and begging steve to just kill him.
32 days since eddie was nothing more than a scared little boy alone in the woods, begging mercy from a god who he'd denied many other times before.
and, in all honesty, he was fine now.
thoughts of the upside down plagued his mind to its very core. he'd wake up drenched in sweat, pillow clutched to his chest, crying for his uncle.
then he'd realize wayne worked night shift, and he was all alone and scared.
nothing more than that scared little boy who ran out of the trailer. the scared boy who ran into the woods. just that scared little boy.
——-
and tonight was no different for eddie, either. he sat upright in his bed, sweat pooling around his legs and making his body disgustingly sticky.
he let out a shaky sob, willing himself to get out of the bed and run to wayne's room. he knew wayne was at work, so why was he seeking comfort from someone who he knew wouldn't be there?
eddie didn't bother knocking, just opening the squeaky door and peeking inside with wide eyes.
"wayne? are you home?" eddie spoke in a small voice. a voice much unlike the loud, expressive tone he usually carried himself with.
and to eddie's surprise, and satisfaction, wayne raised up from his place in the bed groggily and flicked the lamp on the nightstand on.
"eds? son, why are you crying?" wayne sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the back of his fist as he patted for eddie to sit beside him.
eddie haphazardly stumbled onto the bed, crumpling into wayne's side the moment the older man opened his arms.
it wasn't unusual for eddie to seek out his uncle when he needed comfort. after all, that was wayne's job. protecting eddie.
eddie was wayne munson's pride and joy, and he wouldn't dare let his boy sleep alone if he was scared. he paid absolutely no thought to the fact eddie was 20 years old and still craving that childish affection in times of fear.
after all, he was that scared little boy.
"so, what's got you cryin'?" wayne spoke softly and slowly, rubbing light circles into eddie's back as he watched his nephew struggle to speak without gurgling harshly.
each time eddie spoke, his voice got higher and he gasped and gagged pitifully.
wayne shook his head sympathetically, pulling eddie completely into his lap and squeezing him as tight as he possibly could.
"it's okay, you don't have to tell me.." wayne cooed softly, hoping his words would give eddie some type of grounding or comfort.
eddie let out a pitiful sound, sniffling harshly as he pulled back to stare up at wayne with bloodshot doe eyes.
the sight broke his heart every time, too. how could anything or anyone have hurt his boy this bad?
nonetheless, wayne patted his nephew's back soothingly, humming a song quietly as he rocked them back and forth.
"we're in the trailer, sittin' in my bed. nothing can get you, bud. uncle wayne will protect you." the older man reassured, earning a quiet whining sound from the boy curled up in his arms.
eddie willed himself to look up at wayne, choking on his own breath as he played with the hem of his uncle's shirt.
when eddie would come to wayne like this, he wouldn't really talk much. he'd sit in wayne's lap, seemingly no regard to the fact he was an adult. he'd play with his uncle's shirt collar, listening as he told eddie made up stories of dragons and adventure.
wayne never minded. he always cherished every moment he got with his boy, but these tender moments were special. they reminded him how soft and sweet his nephew truly was.
and it made his heart ache to know how hard it was for eddie. how hard it must be to be so soft, in a world so cold and hard.
he was quickly shaken from his thoughts at the sound of eddie babbling something unintelligible.
"hm? what was that, eds?" wayne spoke softly, letting out a small chuckle at the way eddie stared up at him.
"story." eddie's voice came out high pitched and whiny. he didn't seem to notice, but wayne did.
so, he told one of his many tales of dragons and castles, knights and adventure.
and soon, eddie was sleeping soundly with his face pressed into wayne's shoulder and his fingers twisted in his shirt.
wayne knew he couldn't move eddie off of him without another fit of tears, so he settled for staying up all night so his poor boy could finally get some well needed sleep.
"sweet dreams, little man."

a/n
i did post this one under the title unsainted a few weeks ago but it made more sense to just put it here lol so this isn't anything new